LAWSUIT: Restaurateur and Chef Stiffs UWS Landlord Out of $100,000

A “career con-artist” and his family members are accused of scamming their landlord out of $100,000 in rent money, spending two years in their UWS townhouse while barely paying a dime.

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According to the lawsuit filed by West 60th Street Associates and first covered by Patch, Sarid Drory moved into 245 West 71st street with his “paramour” with “no intention of paying, not paying for a single month’s rent after the first.” It’s not just that they “stiffed the landlord approximately $100,000 in rent” according to the lawsuit, it was their actions as tenants as well. Among them, the lawsuit says, “They let their dogs defecate all over the landlord’s furniture and even put the poop back in the apartment when the landlord removed it.” Drory allegedly allowed his son to visit the apartment where he would keep the landlord and young children up by “loudly having sex on the outdoor patio below the landlord’s apartment.”

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When the landlord tried to evict them, Drory delayed it by filing a Covid-19 hardship declaration, which the lawsuit calls “fraudulent.” Now Drory allegedly continues to evade payment by moving money through “a series of newly created shell accounts” with the help of his family, including “his son, nephew, and nephew’s live-in girlfriend/model” which the lawsuit calls “the next generation of fraudsters he is training.” Meanwhile, the lawsuit alleges, the money was spent “gambling, designer clothes fancy restaurants, and trips to places such as Paris, Israel, Greece, Capri and Sardinia”

According to the suit, this isn’t Drory’s first scam. It accuses him of “Stiffing multiple landlords (at least 4).” Furthermore, it claims that in his past, Drory has been caught or accused of “Stealing his children’s health insurance payment” “Stiffing an employee after making him work overtime and then mocking him over it” “Defaulting on multiple loans” “Using other people’s accounts for all monetary transactions” and “Threatening parties and counsel who try to collect from him.”

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Drory, on the other hand, describes himself on his website as a “chef and an entrepreneur” and “The mastermind behind such beloved hotspots as The Waverly Inn and Cub Room.”. According to the site, he is currently reintroducing “the venerable NYC icon, Artisanal Bistro” which is currently closed.

Drory’s son, Johnathan, may have been building off this background when, as the lawsuit alleges, he “provided a fabricated paystub and employment letter claiming he was a general manager at a non-existent restaurant” in an attempt to move into a separate apartment at 229 West 60th Street.

Adding insult to injury, the lawsuit claims Mor Ohana, another one of the accused, “provided a letter falsely claiming to be Johnathan’s landlord at 245 West 71st…recommending Johnathan for tenancy.””

ILTUWS has reached out to Drory for comment and has yet to receive a response.

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